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Latheron Standing Stones is a Bronze Age monument consisting of two upright stones located in Caithness, the northernmost county of the Scottish Highlands. The stones stand on bedrock of Middle Old Red Sandstone, a geological formation of the Middle Devonian period comprising conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. This underlying geology, typical of Caithness, would have presented considerable challenges to those who erected these stones during the Bronze Age, as working and transporting stone from such consolidated rock required significant effort and skill.
The two stones remain substantially intact, rising visibly above the landscape as markers within their locality. Their precise original purpose—whether ceremonial, territorial, commemorative or part of a wider ritual landscape—remains unknowable without excavation, though Bronze Age standing stones across Scotland frequently appear singly or in small groups at prominent positions. The monument's survival to the present day reflects both its substantial construction and the later respect shown to it by the local community.
The site is protected as a scheduled monument under Historic Environment Scotland's reference SM461, recognising its significance as evidence of Bronze Age activity and settlement patterns in northern Scotland. The monument contributes to understanding how communities of this period marked their landscape and invested labour in enduring stone structures.
Latheron, 2 standing stones is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM461. View the official record →
Latheron Standing Stones is a Bronze Age monument consisting of two upright stones located in Caithness, the northernmost county of the Scottish Highlands. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM461.
Latheron, 2 standing stones dates from the bronze age period, and is classified as a 2 standing stones. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Latheron, 2 standing stones is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM461.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Latheronwheel House,promontory fort 1100m SE of (1.9 km), Latheronwheel House, long cairn 850m SE of (2 km), Upper Latheron, broch 230m E of (2.5 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Latheron, 2 standing stones's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Latheron, 2 standing stones stands on Middle Old Red Sandstone (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone and mudstone.